


Our Souls Are Opened Wide

by whiteraven1606



Series: Three [16]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Awkward Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Force Ghost(s), Force Visions, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rebellion, Stormtrooper Rebellion, That's Not How The Force Works, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22297027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteraven1606/pseuds/whiteraven1606
Summary: Lives are changed. A battle won, but a war has just begun. After battle clean up is a series of awkward conversations, but family and the Force, as always, remains.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker, Poe Dameron/Finn/Rey
Series: Three [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/385267
Comments: 62
Kudos: 171





	Our Souls Are Opened Wide

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo. I've been gone a long while. I had a family member that I was the caregiver for that was ill and then passed away and then I just didn't write for over a year. And then The Mandalorian happened and now I'm writing again.
> 
> As a reminder: This series diverged from canon before The Last Jedi and doesn't follow the plots of The Last Jedi or Rise of Skywalker. 
> 
> I am not going to go back and change this to better match canon. I may at some point do a rewrite that meshes this better with the rest of canon, but it'd go up in a different series.

****

Wedge just about didn't know what to do with a battle where there were no TIEs. He rolled and fired at another of the _Finalizer_ 's tubrolaser batteries as the X-Wings that had joined them followed in prefect formation. It was more than a little creepy.

He turned them to make another sweep and circled around again when he found nothing else for them to damage without causing the whole ship to crash, which they didn't want unless they were forced into it.

He slowed down and settled them above the port launch bays were they could pick off TIEs if any ever launched. "Gold Leader to Flight, we still don't have any TIEs out here."

"Acknowledged. Resistance ships will be escorting a captured cargo ship from the surface of the planet."

"Understood. Gold Leader o...Wait." He listened to his astromech freaking out. "We have a shuttle launch from the _Finalizer_ , Flight."

There was a few moments of static before Flight came back on, "Capture the shuttle if possible, Gold Leader."

"Roger, Flight." Wedge flicked to his squad's only channel. "Alright, kids. Let's go capture that shuttle."

****

The order to launch TIE fighters rang in the Stormtrooper's head as he hurried down the corridor. He figured the officers in the launch bays would have the TIEs deployed by the time he arrived, but he kept going as he'd been ordered.

The halls were filled with crew going to their battle stations. He felt a little naked without a Trooper at his shoulder, but his partner hadn't been up to the bridge by the time the General had ordered him to hand delivery the launch order so he was very much alone in his duty.

He turned down an access corridor to get out of the main corridor's traffic and flicked his comms channels to the Repeating Roll only to find it was dead air. The ship shuddered under him as he turned a corner. He sucked in a breath and checked he was on the right channel for the Repeating Roll as he stumbled down the corridor.

It was still dead air. He kept going to the launch bays because he had a duty, but his mind was whirling at the implications. _Had the Resistance been able to sabotage their communications? Maybe it was just his helmet. Yes, that made better sense._

He came out of the access corridor at a junction and turned aft towards the launch bays. He came across a pair of Troopers at the next corridor. His need to complete his duty warred with his desire to _know_.

One of the Troopers turned towards him. "Can you receive all channels?"

He slowed down and shook his head. "No. You?"

The other Trooper shook their head. "Dead air for _everything_."

He nodded and pointed down the corridor. "I'm relaying a message. Keep to your posts."

He ignored the grumble that they knew their duty has he hurried on. He didn't have anything else he could say or do. He wasn't a technician to be able to fix whatever had happened to the communications. He, like the others, were only Troopers required to do their duty for the First Order, nothing more. 

He turned into another access corridor leading to Flight and stopped short as his helmet gave a squeal of feedback. He shook his head and triggered the section blast door to open. As he stepped through the Repeating Roll channel gave a short hiss and then there was a single name repeating.

He stopped short and blinked. It wasn't a Trooper's designation or even a ranked officer's name. He didn't know why the Repeating Roll was suddenly only a single name of Bail Organa Solo, but he recognized the Resistance in it. 

He passed through the open blast door into Flight. He flicked his comms to another channel that was still dead air as he looked around for the Flight Officer. Or...Any officer? Where were they? He rounded one of the terminals and found them all laid out on the floor. He checked the nearest one. Dead.

He quickly went to the observation windows to check the bay itself. He stared at the Troopers shooting at each other! At pilots! He whirled around to try calling for reinforcements to find a pair of Troopers in the doorway with their blasters pointed at him.

He froze.

"Done in here?" The Trooper motioned with their blaster towards the downed officers.

He found himself nodding.

"Alright. We need to get down to the next bay. We have ten more things to do before we're done with the Last Name Protocols."

He bit his tongue so he wouldn't ask and just nodded as he followed along. He was outnumbered and capture wouldn't help the First Order, but gathering information about this insurrection might.

****

When Kaleine woke she didn't really understand why Poe was still holding her. She patted him on the shoulder like she'd seen Mad Jess do when someone bigger had her in the same hold position.

"I was so worried." He huddled her closer to himself.

She frowned as Poe pulled back enough to look down at her without setting her on her own feet. "My report didn't arrive?" She yawned and rubbed at her eyes.

Poe took a deep breath and shook his head. "Your report arrived fine, but that doesn't mean I wasn't still worried." He gestured at the whole room. "And for good reason!"

Kaleine frowned and peeked at the group around the Princess General from the corner of her eye. "Yes. That _he_ is dangerous is common knowledge." She frowned up at Poe and wiggled to signal she wanted out of the horrible firing position she was currently in. "Will Princess General be alright?"

Poe sat her on her feet and then pulled her in against his side. "Yeah, she'll be fine." He pushed her gently towards the cluster of people around Phasma. "Let's go see if we can figure out how much of this was pre-planned. Sound good?"

Kaleine just nodded and followed along. Someone would explain to her why her report hadn't been enough information to calm the Resistance eventually.

****

Mara Jade let Lando hug her after he descended from his ship. "Is Luke with you?"

Lando smiled as he patted her shoulders. "Of course not. Luke's on the way up with Leia. She took a lightsaber to the side, but they got Snoke."

Mara frowned. "That was the ripple I felt in the Force, then. Did Leia bring all the Resistance with her for this little rescue?"

Lando smiled as he followed Mara out of the hanger bay. "Did you bring half a Stormtrooper battalion with you?"

Mara gave a short laugh. "Half? Hardly. I've got a good portion of them sabotaging the First Order fleet. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to cripple the hyperspace engines on a Super Dreadnought."

"For you? I'd believe a lot." Lando followed down the hallway. 

"Sure you would." Mara turned them into a lift. "I want to apologize to you about not letting you know."

Lando raised his eyebrows. "What? Letting me know about what?"

Mara frowned at him. "I thought you knew..." She took ahold of his elbow. "Lando, have you meet the first runaway Stormtrooper?"

"Finn? Sure. He stole Poe out from under Ben's nose from what I've heard. Leia really likes the kid."

Mara nodded and rolled her hand in a go on gesture. "And...?"

"And, what?" Lando frowned at her as Mara huffed. "What are you trying to get me to say?"

She warily rubbed the side of her face. "You lost your spouse and a son to a First Order attack, didn't you?"

Lando stiffened. "What does that have to do with..." He blinked and stared at her. "Mara?"

"By the time I found him there was no way I could smuggle him out. The best I could do was bind his Force ability into keeping him as unnoticed as possible."

"You...He..." Lando leaned against the lift's wall. "Finn?"

Mara smiled softly as she nodded. "I thought you would already know. I didn't think Leia would let them go a day on her base without a genetic scan."

"If the entire galaxy's genetic scanners hadn't all gone on the fritz at the same time she would have had a scan done first thing."

"All the scanners?"

Lando shrugged. "Leia put out a call for a working one and no one can get one to work anywhere near her base. Wedge and I both looked. Even the factory was out of commission." He eyed her. "You're telling me that I'm Finn's father?"

Mara patted his shoulder. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you."

Lando thumped his head lightly against the wall behind him. "Mara, Leia thinks at least part of the children ex-Stormtroopers are Finn's children. Which means you are really telling me that I not only have a living child, I have grandchildren."

"You're welcome." Mara hurried out of the lift.

"Welcome?!" Lando followed her as fast as he could. "Mara! You can't just..." He stopped short as she turned onto a bridge full of people. "Uhm..."

"Everyone, General Lando of the Resistance. Lando, everyone." Mara moved to a free console. "What exactly was I supposed to do, Lando?"

"Oh, I don't know, message someone? You could have called Leia if nothing else."

Mara frowned at him. "Oh, yes, that'd have done a great deal of good. She wouldn't have left it alone and she'd have gone up against millions of Stormtroopers on her own when the New Alliance refused to help." Mara narrowed her eyes. "Come to think of it, that's pretty much exactly what ended up happening anyway."

Lando planted his fists on the edge of her console and leaned forward. "You could have _told_ me."

"If I could have gotten a message out I might have tried." Mara sighed. "Lando, I wasn't exactly free to move about. Anytime Snoke and Satine got into a fight I could slip to a new post, but it got untenable even with the Force ghosts helping."

"The Force ghosts? These the same Force ghosts that pester Leia's base?"

A glowing blue hand slammed down on the console between Lando's fists. "Hey, I don't pester my daughter!"

Lando turned and glared at the glowing man frowning back at him. "Really? From what I hear she hates you."

The man sighed and crossed his arms. "Yes, I know that."

Mara clicked her tongue. "Anakin?"

Anakin sighed and rolled his eyes. "You took your necklace off."

Mara leaned on the console. "Yes, it isn't really needed to hide me if there's no Snoke to hide from."

"Hide?" Lando looked from Anakin to Mara. "Wait. That's why Luke couldn't find you? Do you have any idea how long he...Right, right, of course you know. You just didn't care."

Mara grimaced. "Leaving him wasn't the worse thing I've done by far, Lando. You really think you're going to guilt me with that?"

"Not guilt. Remind you. He's going to forgive you..."

"Oh, please. I doubt he'll stand to be in the same room with me."

Lando took ahold of Mara's arm. "Luke is going to forgive you, Mara. He's going to do that thing he and Leia both do where he wraps you up in a hug and suddenly you feel like you belong to something important. He's going to tell you he _understands_. And that's going to rip up your heart worse than betraying him did in the first place."

Mara shook her head. "You don't know that."

Lando cocked his head. "Do I need to remind you what I once did to betray them?"

Mara sighed. "No, I suppose you don't." She rubbed her face with both hands. "I wasn't trying to betray him, you know. I just...I starting out looking for his lightsaber and ending up hiding our daughter on Jakku."

"Wait, what?"

Anakin nudged Lando with his elbow. "You met Rey."

"Rey? The scavenger that needs convincing she gets to eat without turning in work, Rey? That, Rey?" Lando stared between Anakin nodding and Mara hiding her eyes with her hands. "Oookay, he might not forgive you for that one, Mara."

She dropped her hands and glared at him. "I know that, Lando."

He leaned against the console. "Of course, it is Luke we're talking about. You might have more trouble with Rey herself."

"Maybe, but at least she's alive to hate me." Mara's console starting beeping. She bit her lip. "They're lifting off from the planet. Resistance Flight is asking for us to accommodate medical for Leia and Ben." She frowned at Anakin. "Where you supposed to be telling me something?"

Anakin shrugged. "No one still alive is that bad off. I didn't want to interrupt the heartfelt talk you were having."

Mara made a frustrated sound. "You were never this annoying when you were a Sith, by the way."

Anakin smirked and waved as he faded away.

****

He hadn't expected to wake, but here he was in some medical wing of a...Ben blinked...First Order ship? It seemed First Order in shape, but there was non-red color painted on some panels. That...seemed wrong somehow. He'd been on the ground listening to his Mother's people fuss over her wound hadn't he? He should be in their custody, shouldn't he?

The door on the far side of the room slide open and C-3PO steeped through. "Oh, thank the Maker, you're awake!"

Ben frowned as he eased himself up onto his elbows. His head felt very heavy. "What?"

C-3PO waved his hands as he turned towards someone in the hallway Ben couldn't see and then back toward him.

He started to reach out with the Force to see who they were, but the Force wasn't responding to him. He sat up and pulled at his hair. "What happened?"

Mother stepped into the room, leaning on a cane. "You killed a bunch of people, Ben." She sighed as she sat down next to his bed. "C-3PO, go check on Kaleine."

"Of course, Princess General."

Mother made a face and sighed again as the door closed behind the droid. "You're on the strongest Force suppression drug we know of, just so you're aware."

He dropped his hands to his knees. He really wanted to ask why she was putting up with being called more than General, but he had more pressing concerns. "How badly did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Do you mean yesterday's fight, when you stabbed Han, or when you helped blow up an entire star system?"

He winced as she turned her head a bit and sighed again.

"I told myself I wasn't going to fuss at you and here I am..." She blew out a shaky breath. "I spent a good portion of your younger years trying to reassure you that you didn't cause the miscarriage of your twin sister." She looked him square on. "Tell me where I went wrong, Ben. I'd like to know how you went from a kid swinging off Chewie's arms to where we've gotten."

He fidgeted. "It wasn't anything you did or didn't do, Mother." He didn't have the words to explain how if he could have just become the most powerful being in the Galaxy it would have meant being _safe_. "I destroyed everything on my own."

She frowned at him. "Oh, that's utter rancor shit." She leaned her head back. "I can't do this right now." She pushed herself up with her cane.

Ben couldn't stop himself from putting out a hand towards her. "Mother..."

She huffed. "What?"

He shallowed. "An ideal of power that I couldn't obtain didn't make it less appealing to try for."

She sank back down. "You had plenty of power."

Ben smiled half-heartedly. "I didn't understand that then. You're actually subtle about how you weld power when you want to be. Dad was always...Dad. I was always surrounded, occupied, and I never said anything about the headaches I was having." He shrugged. "I didn't know that everyone didn't have them. You were always rubbing your head. Dad was always injured somehow. It didn't occur to me the whispers that brought on the headaches were...bad."

Mother rubbed her forehead. "And, I sent you off to Luke to train. With these...headaches."

"He knew something was wrong, but not what." He spread his hands. "I didn't say anything. He kept pushing me because he was trying to figure it...me out. I didn't..." He pushed his hair out of his face. "I had what I thought was a Force vision of standing tall in all black having saved you...everyone. I knew only one person who'd been a Force user that stood tall in all black. Darth Vader. We both know what would have happened if I mentioned him."

"Only it wasn't a Force vision."

He shrugged again. "I don't know. I was so little, but I knew if I told anyone I would be cuddled. That no one would believe me, that I'd be told not to talk about it so..." He shook his head a little. "It doesn't matter that I started out trying to be powerful to save everything. I chose what I did in this life. I destroyed everything. On my own."

She sighed and stood up again. "Not solely on your own." She kissed his forehead. "And, certainly not everything. I have a meeting I must attend. There's a civil war in the First Order to see about. Trial dates to set." She patted his cheek. "Don't leave this suite or someone will shoot you."

Ben didn't try to keep her. She never had enough time as it was. "I'll behave."

She laughed as she turned for the door. "We will see. I will be back for evening meal with your children. One of them needs to see that you are no longer a threat to those she holds dear."

Ben sighed and laid back down after the door shut. The boy's twin lived. He had not expected that. Ben rubbed at his temples. At least his constant headache was different now. No whispers, just a hole where his Force sense should sit.

****

Leia leaned against the wall right beside the door of Ben's medical prison room. "Kriff."

Noilo glanced at her from his post across the hallway. "Would you like me to go kick him, Princess General?"

She wiped hurriedly at her eyes. "No. Thank you for the offer, Noilo." She gestured down the hallway and that got the rest of her escort moving. "Who is watching the Force around him in case the drugs become ineffective?"

Noilo fell into step beside her. "Kaxvil until lunch and then it switches over to Kann." He double stepped to keep up as they rounded a corner that put him on the outside of the turn. "Boost has a dampening net around him as well."

Leia nodded. "Yes, I felt that when I was talking to him." She smiled at Han standing in the intersection of the next hallway.

He smiled back and fell in with them as they headed for the nearest lift. "He okay?"

"Seemed so. I'll talk to you about it later." She sighed as they crowded into the lift with the escort. She hated how lifts were such easy kill boxes if they were to be ambushed. "How goes the clean up?"

Han shrugged and Leia forced herself not to let it remind her of Ben. "Well, Kaleine still doesn't get why reporting wasn't enough to keep us from coming for her and Luke. That battle droid of hers is almost repaired. Lando is still drunk from finding out about Finn being his kid. And, there's at least a few First Order supporters in the Troopers from the _Finalizer_."

"I knew we'd get some at some point. Sabotaging anything yet?"

"Actually, Rey's been talking up the benefits of plentiful food and spoons in their direction all morning, so we're fine right now." 

Leia rubbed her temple. "You think that'll actually do anything?"

"Maybe. From what I hear we really do have better food."

Noilo nodded. "Much better. If they attempt to hurt anything we'll stop them."

Han patted Noilo on the head. "Sure, kid."

Leia made a mental note to make absolutely sure the children knew killing wasn't the preferred way to stop someone from sabotaging.

****

Luke sat down and watched Mara load up the display tables for the meeting that was going to start soon. "You hid her."

"Yes." Mara glanced at Rey sitting on the other side of the table. "I tried to send a message back to you, but it didn't make it like I intended." She tried not to stab the buttons under her fingers too hard. "I couldn't just send a Force vision and she..." Mara sighed and sat down heavily. "I'm sorry, but it was the only option I saw at the time."

Luke frowned. "Jakku? Seriously, you couldn't have gotten her on a transport to Yavin or something?"

Mara pulled on one of her own hair loops. "Luke. I was being chased."

"You sold me." Rey leaned back like she hadn't meant to say anything.

Luke gesture to Rey and raised his eyebrows at Mara.

Mara sighed. "It was sell you to a place that couldn't lose you or lose you on an off chance I could get you across the galaxy without a Sith noticing you." 

Rey frowned. "Couldn't lose me?"

"I bound the planet to hold you until you piloted yourself off of it or one of us came for you."

"Mara." Luke rubbed his face. "You should have just called."

"You were being chased?" Rey leaned forward and laid her arms across her knees.

Mara nodded as she ignored Luke for a moment. "I'd brought danger to a place that was not happy to have it and I had to break the trail. It was either that or lead the Sith to your father or bring down the First Order on an unsuspecting target. Either would have seen us to disaster."

Luke folded his arms. "I've faced Sith before."

"You'd just lost the padawans. I would not see you fallen anymore than I would see Rey dead."

"Stop."

Luke turned towards Rey. He watched Mara do the same from the corner of his eye. 

Rey stood and pushed her tiny hair tendrils behind her ears. "We are alive now and are stronger for it." She pulled Mara into a hug. "I loved you even when I was crying over you having left me behind."

Luke dropped his hands and Rey pulled Mara along toward him. He tried to smile as Mara was pushed into his arms by Rey.

"Hiding me saved Finn. And we helped take down Starkiller. That's a good enough reason. I won't hear you fight more about the past. I want what is in front of us now. All of my family, blood and chosen relations."

Luke brushed his hand over Mara's hair. "Yes, alright." He pulled Mara closer as she started to cry. "Easy. We've a meeting soon, my love."

****

Finn leaned on Poe's shoulder as they watched a maintenance crew of Mara's and the Resistance swarm over Poe's X-Wing. "I can't believe I'm a General's son."

Poe smiled as he shook his head. "Are you going to get a big head now?"

Finn snorted and shoved a little away from Poe. "No. I just..." He waved at it all. "I was nothing as a Stormtrooper. A number that could be replaced in an instant. Here I've become...more."

Poe clasped his upper arm in a warm hold. "Finn, buddy, you were always you. And everyone, you, Generals, me, the kids, Rey, everybody is somebody. You were that long before you had a name or knew you were the son of a General."

Finn nodded and then grinned wide. "Thanks, Poe." He pulled Poe into a hug.

Poe kissed his temple and pulled back. "Come on now, we'll be late for the meeting about the First Order Civil War."

Finn nodded and started to follow Poe into the hallway. He stopped and looked back out through bay's opening to the stars beyond. He could feel them. All of it, everything, through the Force. The Force was with them. Always. And, that was enough for now. He nodded once more and turned to follow Poe.

****

**Author's Note:**

> A few people have asked for a link to the roster of Stormtroopers I was using to track everyone in the story. It is raw notes so some little details might not match in the story or not have been used at all, but this is how it looks when I start tracking everybody to make everything work right:  
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19o4ImSMJ7yhbqGjIy1fbhEehNRBDRtaSZK8sLLg0kGM/edit?usp=sharing
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the series. Thank you very much for reading.


End file.
